Journey to Redemption
by angeldata1995
Summary: On the chuunin exams Sakura made a leapt of faith that changed the team forever; Left to deal with the consequences of her actions, she must face her sealed past and secrets while fighting along Naruto to save Sasuke form his vengeance, however would Naruto and Sasuke realise on time that Sakura is the one who needs to be saved, or will they fail to save her again?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Regardless of her trembling in fear, a struck of light hit her, without thinking properly she launched her whole body towards Sasuke, in a matter of seconds the raven hair boy was in the floor a few inches away from her, his eyes wide open in surprise

The relief she felt from seeing Sasuke safe immediately changed to fear and a horrid pain corroding her whole body, _something_ very pointy and sharp was clutching against her skin in her neck, she had read fairy stories about vampires sucking up blood from young and more than eager damsels and describing it as a pleasant and out of space sensation, she noted those books to be utterly wrong and swore to never ever read them again, her body was burning, her neck aching and something was crawling from her neck to her whole body, something was possessing her taking control of her.

In another note of _stupid bravery_ she aimed one of her kunai to the back of the head of the man know as Orochimaru, nonetheless although missed few inches, it made its purpose, the snake man retreated instantly with a growl, with surprise and distaste in his eyes

-It seems I have ran out of time, we will meet again – with a move of hands he was gone

Sasuke was in shock, dumbfounded and…. worried.

Sakura on the other hand, was in utterly pain, her knees collapsed with her body curling in a ball, her neck was burning even more than fire, screams and tears streamed down her pale and sweaty skin.

Sasuke ushered her, a contact he thought was awkward and clumsy, nonetheless Sakura screams were horrifying, he embraced her tight as he could, allowing her to put her face on his knees, a situation that he would never guessed would happen

Naruto watched embedded in guilt, he was´t able to protect Sakura, on the contrary she protected them, receiving two big and important attacks on her body, one for Naruto and the other for Sasuke

As the screams continued, Sasuke heart ached more and more, his mind rushing and getting clouded for vengeance, whatever the snake man did to Sakura was unforgivable.

The light in the forest was dim, shadows appeared in every corner, on every tree. The chipper of birds quieted followed by Sakura screams, she fell into unconscious after Sasuke gaped the whole in the back of her neck, it seemed as the only correct thing to do, for mercy, for her and for them.

He didn´t know what to do from there, the events of the first day were wearing heavy on his body and mind and realisation struck him, it could have been them instead of Sakura to receive those attacks, and he was mad, mad at her for being so annoying and for protecting them with her body, mad at Naruto for not being able to defend himself and avoid Sakura being hurt, and mad at him for the same reason he was mad at Naruto, they were´t able to save Sakura

-Sasuke - the heavy voice of Naruto called his attention, the look on his eyes, full of regret and at the same time determination was their new unspoken agreement, they will protect Sakura from the damn forest, and they will make it alive, all three of them

He carried her in princess style, making sure her wounds were not going to be open. It was strange for him, he did´t feel the need to growl at the contact or to throw her away because she was to close, even if his wounded leg pained he didn´t want to let go of her or to Naruto to carry her, as annoying as she was, he cared for her, not that he could explain it how or why but he just cared

Both ninja jumped from the branch looking for a safe place to rest, they were wide open, wounded and tired with an almost fallen comrade, easy targets to be attacked. And with that, was the end of day one of the second part of the chunk exams, and the beginning of a long journey for team seven, especially for Sakura.


	2. Unknowing Emotions

**Unknowing Emotions**

Okay so I decided to re edit the work I have done so far, after **Kosmas** review, thank you for that. I hope this version is clearer of mistakes and grammar, and is easier to enjoy reading,

I have to apologise beforehand, English is not my native language so I will mostly certainly make grammar mistakes and punctuation along the way, I will be infinitely grateful if you see some error I could correct (you will need to point it out for me to know I made an error there and be able to improve)

Your reviews and insights are very important for me; they help me to grow up as a writer and bring me happiness to see you enjoy my work.

Ah! before I forget, I realised Fanfiction does not allow for double space in the stories so I have resorted to use little dots to separate the paragraphs a little bit more, if you see "###" aligned in the middle it means there is a scene break.

I find it annoying myself when I have to read it online (but this is the traditional way in books) but I couldn't think of another method, if you know other way less nerving or are you ok with it let me know.

Well without further ado, here is the first chapter

Enjoy!

* * *

He scanned Sakura searching for any other wounds he might have missed but he smiled satisfied with his work, she was clean and soundlessly sleep, mission accomplished.

Not long after their last battle Naruto managed to find the perfect hideout under one of the big trees, it had enough space for the three of them and provided a more than advantageous spot in case they were ambushed, for once the blond had a good idea.

Talking of which, he made an important mental note of finding the best possible way to torture him, the coward dared to ditched him after they realised Sakura clothes were covered in sweat, smoke and blood. There was no possible way she could rest properly in that dress, and Naruto blushed immediately when the suggestion arose

He frenetically denied the idea of touching Sakura, arguing she was defenceless and unconscious and therefore changing her clothes was off limits, Sasuke watched in disbelief as the blond left him to deal with the issue.

He sighed remembering the scene and was relieved that Naruto wasn´t there to witness a not so great moment, with a kunai he had shredded the qipao dress to pieces, it was far easier than trying to remove it properly and in the process risking one of the recent wounds of the girl to open

Naruto words echoed in his head at the worst timing, his cheeks immediately turning bright red at the sight of Sakura´s creamy stomach, he had felt a perverted then, and that only made the job at hand harder

Finally after a contest of stares between his black shirt and Sakura she was dressed, he swore to never let the girl know about his _endearment_ he didn´t want her to cling on his neck as a crazy fan girl, he shrouded at the thought

Oddly enough he wasn´t too troubled by the fact that Sakura was wearing his T – shirt and that made him unease, he frowned wondering if _this_ tingling sensation was going to continue

But his stares and thoughts were interrupted at the small shivering body of the pink girl, hating human contact he always try his best to avoid it and dropped the auto-imposed rule unless strictly necessary, it seems this was one of the cases

Carefully he moved one lock of hair from her face, gaping at the warm sensation under his hand, she was burning in fever and it was dangerous. With what was left of the raided dress, he wetted it until it was cold enough to place it on her forehead and kept contemplating her fragile body, memorising her, immortalizing her in his mind forever

.

Little he knew that the girl he considered annoying fan girl was making her way in his heart, slowly but steady.

.

####

.

"Naruto-kun?" the sweet and almost muted voice of Hinata sure scared him, so much so he was now swimming in the lake with the fishes he was staring at seconds ago "Hinata you scared me" he went back to stare at the fishes. In his mind, seeing Sakura so hurt was like a big nightmare, she was her crush and he wanted to protect her it was not an impossible task and yet he failed, he had failed her

"You shouldn´t talk to the enemy Hinata" the young Hyuuga ignored Kiba with an apologetic face. Worried by the blonde she went closer as she could to him, his eyes usually full of life and determined were lost and sad, she recognised disappointment as well

"Is everything all right?" she had to admit that gathering the courage to talk to the boy she had always admired without muttering or fainting was a feat itself, one effort Shino recognised soundlessly and Kiba growled in annoyance

He eyed Hinata and then the other members of team Kurenai, his thoughts drifting to the only girl of his team and he couldn´t stop to compare the two kunoichis

On one side was Hinata, he never noticed her or made a really attempt to talk to her, so he didn´t know about her that much. She was a quiet girl and a very shy one, very different to Sakura personality, full of energy, loud and noisy. Life was a very interesting thing, Sakura was badly hurt and Hinata was in perfect condition.

He was reluctant to admit it but maybe, just maybe being part of a clan played an important part on a ninja´s life, it decided their future and the path they should take to achieve greatness; For once he wished Sakura to be a civilian instead of a kunoichi

´Let him be Hinata, come on we have to find the other scroll´ the girl denied courteously, something in Naruto was wrong and she wanted to know "Naruto-kun if there is something we could help you with…."

.

Hazel met white.

.

Naruto´s head snapped so fast that he surprised Hinata a bit, his eyes shinning

.

"Do you know how to prepare medicine?"

.

####

.

He hid perfectly in the gap beside the entrance a disturbance in the area made him run to the side ready to attack any moment if necessary, he sensed various chakras and panicked

One of his teammates was who knows where and doing who knows what and the other was on the verge of death few inches apart from him, great just great

Why God was so stubborn in making his life harder?

All he wanted is a day of to recover his energies and for Sakura to wake up, but not even that was possible

Voices were growing closer alarm rang on his head "They found us!" he thought. He gulped waiting patiently for the correct moment to attack, he steadied his breath and softened fast as he could, surprises attacks consisted in being as quiet and cautious as possible to work perfectly

If the other ninjas thought for a second that he was going down without a fight they were out of their minds, he was the great Uchiha Sasuke, and nobody… repeat NOBODY messed with him

The moment the first ninja stepped inside the hideout, Sasuke sent himself and the guy to the floor, with Sasuke on top and a dangerous kunai aiming to the neck

.

And he was very much surprised

.

Naruto was eyeing him with horror and a sonorous "gulp" echoed the little cavern under the tree

It was the academy all over again

"YOU?" sparks shinned between Naruto and Sasuke

"Teme get off me!"

"Shut up you idiot, why you didn´t use the code?" realization hit Naruto, literally. Sasuke punched him so hard he was seeing stars around him

Sasuke pride was hurt, how stupid he had been to trust Naruto into remembering to use a stupid code, they had gone through all that yesterday with the fake Naruto "Hahaha if you guys want we can leave you at it" and Kiba laughing his ass off only added salt to the wound

"What are you doing here?" he questioned wanting to end whatever matters they had with them, he had to take care of the pinkette and time was precious..

Hold on a minute, he was worried about her health? He frowned deeply; this crazy situation was making him soft to the girl

And he didn´t like it

.

At. All

.

.

"Hinata use your Byakugan to scan Sakura chakra channels" while Kiba argued with the blonde and Sasuke was lost in his own world he decided to check the girl. It is not that she was of high importance to him, he barely knew her and the only time they talked to each other was when they were seven and sensei made them do a team project.

Not that he disliked Sakura either, she was a smart girl and could make a fine kunoichi, only _if_ she wasn´t so focused on attracting the only survivor of the Uchiha clan "what a pity" he thought remembering the good days

"Byakugan" the suspicious and not so happy Hinata face confirmed his suspicions "It is as if her chakra is being fused with another source, her channels are growing unstable, at this rate she could… die" the petty fight between boys ended, crawling closer to the group to hear a complete explanation

Kiba understood Shino silence, Sakura scent was off; Instead of the usual light he felt around the girl that reminded him of a vas field to run around carelessly she was giving him the chills, with a heavy and clouded scent, to the point of darkness.

Akamaru barks only made it worse

"Here you can have these" two shinning bottles of two colors, one purple the other green were given to Sasuke "I do not know what is happening to her but is no good. She needs to be revised by one of the proctors, meantime use that. My clan has a good knowledge of medicine and my eldest sister gave me that in case of an emergency, the purple is to seal the overflowing chakra and the green to control the side effects"

Sasuke shook his head in understanding but one question remained how to give it to Sakura?

As guessing Sasuke thoughts, Kiba grinned "well I can have some fun with Uchiha bastard" he thought.

"You have to give it to her orally, the faster you do it, the faster the fever will go down, Hinata, Shino let´s go" the girl bowed slightly to the Naruto and Sasuke before leaving "ah one last thing, make sure you give her the purple one every hour until finished, and the green you can give it to her now… all of it" Sasuke look was priceless for Kiba, he wished he could stay to see the outcome but they had an exam to complete

He glared the bottles in his hands, wishing to throw them, burn them to ashes and never talk about the idea of giving the liquid mouth to mouth, he was sure God loved to make fun of him and that he found it amusing to throw all these kind of things at him to test his temper

He eyed Naruto "you do it" demanded fierily

And Naruto shook his head frenetically "I… forgot to… to" it was obvious Sasuke was going to kill him or knowing him, he would find a way to make him pay for ditching but come on, he couldn´t possibly give a mouth to mouth to Sakura with some weird medicine, it was no different from changing her clothes "BRING THE SUPPLIES! YEAH, I… will see you soon" and he dashed not daring to give another glance at Sasuke

.

This was NOT happening.

For the second time Naruto just vanished leaving him with the task at hand, he was sure, certain that in the future Naruto will pay severely for the endearment

"That big idiot!" he wasn´t going to shout, Uchiha´s never shout, but the problem remained: giving the infamous liquid to Sakura

He gulped; a slight blush on his cheeks, he had never kissed a girl in his life, not hugged one – at least romantically and there he was, crouching down, steading his balance to sustain Sakura head in one of his hands and in the other the green bottle

Being so close as he was, inches apart from Sakura face, he detailed her with care and curiosity. Her skin was pretty, smooth and shinning though it was pale at the moment, nonetheless he thought was cute

She had big eyelashes and pretty rosy lips that looked smooth, curiosity was a double edge sword he wanted to touch them, to know if her lips were as smooth as they looked

"Do they taste?" a faint flowerish and fresh smell went into his nostrils, it was very light, not powerful like all the girls in his class and he just wanted to puke at them. It was comforting and he enjoyed it, he gasped for air unwarily of his actions, he wanted to remember that smell forever

Not wanting to drag the task anymore he emptied the content of the bottle in his mouth, while tilting Sakura head he closed his eyes finally breaching the tiny gap in their faces, gladly confirming that her lips were indeed very soft.

* * *

Well let me know what you think,

I am editing the other chapters as well to make it more detailed and with fewer mistakes (hopefully), stay put for the next edition

BTW I had lots of fun writing this chapter with Sasuke and Sakura kiss – well not so much of a kiss but it count right?

See you soon xx

.

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong entirely to Masashi Kishimoto however the story is mine and this is the only place I have posted so far.


	3. Don t go

Second chapter: edited version

Disclaimer: Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The story is my creation and has only been posted in Fanfiction.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Don´t go**

 _._

 _Sakura when you grow up, what do you want to be?_

Her body stirred to unknown voice, waking her up from her slumber sleep

Darkness welcomed her and surrounded her, everywhere she saw was pitch black and empty, she felt heavy and... lonely

"Naruto!" she shouted "Sasuke-kun" nobody answered.

Flashes of the battle stormed in her head, the unbearable pain the heaviness of her body and her impressive demonstration of agility, all came back. She touched the back of her neck wondering if she was going to find any sort of scar or seal

There was nothing

 _I want to be like nii – san_

What was that? Another voice echoed clearly, she wasn´t just hearing things

 _And what is that?_

The image of a tall young man appeared in front of her; White and short hair she was embellished at the sight of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen one was red, kind of reminded her of Sasuke-kun, and the other one hazel blue, almost like Naruto. But there was a big difference in his demeanour, he looked more mature and cool than anyone "he is handsome too" she blushed slightly at the sight

 _A kunoichi_

"A kunoichi" she covered her mouth almost immediately, she had answered merely by instinct as if she knew that was the ´correct´ response and stared in awe at the change of scenery. The dark space was being sworn by millions of colours, the landscape was breathtaking

A vast meadow was presented in front of her, with the most extravagant and beautiful flower she even did´t know existed, not that she was an expert at it. A warm breeze overflew her heaviness, her hair flew gracefully tickling her cheeks.

"Welcome back" a tiny version of herself was smiling widely extending a hand to her. She took it skeptical of the action, the dress of the little girl was plain summer white but it fit her like a glove, she tried recalling if in the past she wore that dress, but received a throbbing pain instead "Nii-san is waiting" Nii-san? she did´t had a brother, she was the only child of her parents.

She smiled at the thought of Mebuki and Kizashi, she missed them dearly.

A couple who loved each other with passion, they were avid travellers and merchants, always going to the farthest corners of the world to discover some old treasure or legend, they would always come home covered in gifts and amazing stories that would keep her entertained for weeks, her eyes watered and restrained herself from crying, she was too old for that and Sasuke-kun would´t look at her if she cried

.

 _It is nothing, I thought to myself_

 _The truth is, I want to stop for a moment,_

 _But you are gliding forward with such quick steps_

 _That I Simply watch_

 _._

The same guy from before was walking towards them with a smile on his face and a peaceful aura, his hair rustling with the wind and her heart ached

"Where were you little one?" her hand felt empty and she was jealous of her mini version, the little girl was being thrown in the air by the kind arms of the young boy, being so close to him she was able to detail him more

.

Inside her, in the deepness of her head she thought _hearing_ a cracking sound

.

"I found her!" her cheeks blushed once more when the attention of the boy was on her, his gaze was intense and endless, she could stare at them all day and never get tired of them, they were candid and warm,she never met someone with so much love in his _self,_ and shifted nervously after several minutes

"I see" what happened next froze her, his arms wrapped around her body tightly but not to the point of hurting her, she smelled fresh mint when her face was cornered by his hard chest

Her head throbbed again

And finally _something_ broke

She hugged him back, feeling as years had never passed she poured her soul in tears, memories, shadows and lights coming and going

She remembered

And it pained

"Nii-san" their embrace tightened even more, she was overwhelmed by the sudden emotions and the image of her brother the one she did´t know existed but somehow it did. Piece by piece, like a puzzle was being assembled, in her head in her past, a past she had forgotten, he was her beloved brother

"It is all right blossom" he pated her head comfortingly, he had´t expect to see his little sister for a long period of time, not at least until she had wrinkles on her face and a faded pink

She cried and cried. Promises that weren't kept, words that were sent to oblivion, moments that had been scattered in pieces, all came back and it hurt, it hurt like hell.

She felt as her heart was being ripped apart and put back together, it was a constraining sensation, her head throbbed in pain for every second that passed was more and more painful, but she did´t care

"What are you doing here?" his voice was almost sad and she wondered if he was´t as happy as her of seeing him?

Maybe he just hated her for forgetting about him, she cried more at the thought

"Yo...you ha..te me?" she articulated between sobs and tears

"Off course not! I am so glad to see you, but you shouln´t be here not at least for many more years, please calm down" he whipped the tears out of his little sister, act that seemed to calm her down "now tell me what happened" and she told him everything she remembered, the battle, the bite, her teammates, even her life in Konoha

She had missed him.

A lot

.

 _On the last train, you board, leaving me behind._

 _Gliding away._

 _Slowly, the ground slides away._

 _Don´t cry._

 _Don't cry._

 _But the truth is, I want to say out loud,_

 _"_ _Don´t go"_

 _._

"It must have been hard" time flowed different inside the _void,_ as he decided to name it. Lights and shadows blended almost equally and he knew it was time to say goodbye "Saku..." how to address her? He was in no position to tell her the reason of her memories. He made up his mind and squeezed Sakura hands hard as he could, forcing her to see him "I... I cannot tell you how or why but you will need to trust me, you have to get stronger and find by yourself about your memories and why you lost them, the seal in your back probably is infusing dark chakra in your body mixing it with your natural chakra, if you are not strong enough, if you let your weaknesses get you then it will be all over" he embraced his sister for the last time before walking away "look at the outskirts of Konoha, in the memorial stone you will find a white chrysanthemum, look underneath the underneath and don´t be fooled"

She rushed towards him not understanding completely, questions swirled in her head but more importantly she needed him, more than ever

.

 _Saku stay here, no matter what to not leave this place. Got it?_

.

It was the same feeling from that time, he ushering her, he walking away and staring at his back.

.

 _Nii-san don´t go_

 _._

Unaware of her surroundings Sakura ran fast as she could, darkness started to engulf her and she was trapped

"Wait! Nii-san I don´t understand" he kept walking overtime further and further from her "Wait!" it was hopeless

She was being pulled backwards, no matter how much she fought she could´t shake it apart, the grip on her body tightened and she was being suffocated

 _I will be always by your side_

 _._

 _It fades out of sight, far far away,_

 _Leaving me behind_

 _Now I can´t quite see it anymore._

 _The night crumbles apart._

 _Don´t Cry. Don´t cry._

 _But the truth is, I want to say out loud,_

 _"_ _Don´t go"_

 _._

It was unfair, after all these years she recovered a fragment of her past and now that she remembered her brother was out of reach

 _Promise?_

The last thing she saw was the back of his brother while darkness took complete possession of her body

 _Promise_


	4. The Other Sakura

Edited version

DISCLAIMER: Naruto characters belong to Kasashi Kishimoto, the story is originally mine.

* * *

 **The Other Sakura**

"Her temperature has gone down" he thought drifting back to endless memories. For him the whole world had turned upside down once more, with Sakura sudden bravery or rather _stupid move_ and Naruto´s weird behaviour and uselessness his responsibilities as team leader had only increased. He eyed the pinkette once more; she was mumbling words he could not understand, she looked so fragile and breakable, like a porcelain doll.

And he wondered why Sakura was a kunoichi?.

Naruto for instance was an orphan, he was an outcast who never experienced the warmth of a family, everyone in the villa treated him as a monster and well he understood why, because of the mission to wave they had bonded oddly enough to understand each other. He was driven by his sadness, determined to turn it into something positive and bright, Naruto was the sun in the team.

While him, he was completely the opposite. He was the sole survivor of an important clan, even if his clan wasn´t murdered he would still become a fine shinobi to follow with tradition, now he would still become one but his path was of an avenger, his sole purpose of living was to exterminate the person who had brought shame to his family and life, he breathed heavily at the thought and clenched his fists in a ball, his memories were always his weakness and he hated it, he wanted them gone along with his feelings

But Sakura was... kind and soft, fragile and beautiful like a flower, not that he would admit it out loud. Imaging her killing someone in cold blood and dead eyes brought shivers to him. Although annoying she was smart and happy, if she wanted she could have a good life as a civilian. He knew her parents were merchants so money wasn´t an issue, and her family was caring and loving so she didn´t have any reason whatsoever for being a kunoichi.

Then why?

Why a woman like her would choose a path so cruel?

His eyes widened at the image of her covered in blood with a pool of bodies lying on the floor with a wicked grin enjoying the art of killing.

He shook his head, No. Sakura could not turn out like that, and he would make sure of that. She was the link between Naruto, Kakashi and him, she was their anchor.

Sakura was now his third goal, he would protect her from everything and she would survive.

"N...o" her shivers grew bolder, carefully making sure to not hurt her he put his arms around her body hoping his body heat would warm her up. With so much things to think about and a tiring day, he managed to fell asleep at Morpheous doors.

.

.

 _._

"Let´s begin" a hoarse voice echoed through the small room. A place deprived from light, in the end close to the wall there was a small girl strained with multiple chains.

The man lighted a torch in front of the little girl, her hair completely white and her eyes of the same colour.

They were empty, no light, no hope, nothing.

"Don´t make me use _that"_ his hand lifted the girl chin. yellow against white, evil against pureness "Just tell me now! Where is it?" she wanted to end all. Her sacrifice so far had brought her more pain than any gain, it had been three years since she became the _toy_ of that despicable man and nobody tried to stop her.

Nobody even gave her words of encouragement or farewell.

Back in her town they just tossed her like a tool.

"Konoha" was all she said before biting her tongue.

 _Sakura forgive me_

"Akito" a shadow appeared in the cell, bowing to the tall man of yellow eyes and masked face

"You called master?"

"Go to Konoha, infiltrate their ranks and gain their trust, find the girl and lure her to me" his smile broadened, he was close to obtain unlimited power and the girl that once escaped from his grasp would soon become his new tool.

He tasted his lips with pleasure, patience had paid off and it was just a matter of time

"Your new code name is Dan, you will part immediately I have an old friend there who owes me a favour" the moving flames illuminated the malnourished body of the girl and he watched in distaste, he hated when his toys died without permission, it always left him with distaste "ah! one thing more, burn her body and clean this place. We need to make room for our soon to be guest"

"Yes sir" he bowed deeply.

His black eyes stared the back of his master until disappearance and watched the scene with sadness. He regretted the actions of his master deeply but he could not go against them, he only wished he could find a way to spare the life of the next girl

"You can now rest in peace Hoshi-san" with care he undid the bindings in the limbs of the young girl with the stars as witnesses of the crime he closed her eyelids, biding farewell

.

.

.

He was dumbfounded, and he had to slap his cheeks a lot of times thinking it was a dream, but it hurt, and the more he did the pain was greater.

So it wasn´t a dream.

The girl sitting in front of him wasn´t an illusion.

She was finally awake

"Sakura-chan!" he ran from his bag to her, hugging her tightly as possible. He was feeling guilty for not being able to protect her the last day and he couldn´t bear the thought of her dying so seeing her awake and well it was to celebrate.

But... Sakura did´t even flinch at the contact. She kept looking at nowhere with empty sockets

And just like that a kunai flew few inches from his head if it wasn´t for Sakura who caught the kunai on time

"Who are you?" Naruto felt fire in his body. The stupid Sasuke was more worried than him! And he was attacking Sakura out of the blue

"Teme! what are you doing? Sakura is awake and you attack her"

He grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his neck, angered, ready to punch him anytime

"Naruto that is not Sakura. Sakura wouldn´t be able to catch that kunai"

That was it, he tried his best to behave and not fight with Sasuke for Sakura´s sake but saying that Sakura was incompetent was the tip of the glass, he sent a quick punch to Sasuke´s face

"Uchiha-san is right, Uzumaki-san" he stopped in the middle, looking at Sakura confused

"Who are you?" Sasuke smacked Naruto hand annoyed. He had managed to sleep and they woke him up over some silly fuzz

Sakura played with the kunai while staring at the two boys. Her voice was monotonous same as a robot or machine, it had no emotion or pitch, it was flat

"I guess I am Sakura and I am not Sakura" Sasuke eyed her wanting a deeper explanation, and remained quiet expecting for more. Sakura sighed "You could call me like her inner, a second mind inside her body"

The first ray of light filtered through the holes of the tree, a small breeze swirling her hair around, and that is when they saw it. Sakura eyes were of a crystal blue that shined brighter in light

"I was born as a protect mechanism from Sakura. Long time back, she used to be abused constantly, and when Konoha realised of her existence sealed her memories and with that they sealed me. But now the seal has broken due to a new chakra source, probably from the mark in the back... look I can´t go into much detail but know this, she is in great danger and I can´t protect her completely. Sakura trusts you" her head bowed deeply to them "Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san I beg you protect Sakura, from the mark, her past and her"

Naruto gaped, not understanding the situation completely. He wanted to ask her some questions but as he was going to, Sasuke dashed to grab Sakura who fell once more into unconsciousness, leaving the two of them with much more questions than answers.

* * *

Well I am more happy with this chapter than the original version to be honest, I introduced this time a new enemy.

Soon things will get more interesting

I hope you liked it, please help me to make better stories by giving me advice and telling me how to improve, I want you to enjoy reading the story.

Reviews?

See you soon xx


	5. Broken Pieces

_Hello Sakura_

She didn´t answer

 _Want to play a game?_

The water at her feet was more interesting than whatever the voice was saying.

The last hours after her forgotten brother left had been filled with horrid nightmares, a new voice soon echoed in the room, a voice that was wicked and brought evil to its knees, she wanted to scape, she remembered her fierce face and her stance when the first vision came

It started with his parents, loving and caring as they were, they turned to screams of help and quiet prayers, they were being tortured in front of her, she repeated "it was fake" as a mantra, but then when she didn´t bodge the next image came

Ino

She held a very wicked smile on her, she was mocking her and telling her how pathetic she was, how she shouldn´t be a kunoicihi and then Sasuke-kun appeared

Ino kissed him

In the lips

And he mocked her as well, calling her annoying and worthless

Her attempts of fighting seemed futile by now, she had lost her will

 _Nobody loves you, why don´t you let me take control of you?_

Hands crept from the deep water, they grabbed her legs and slowly made their way, they wanted to suffocate her, to cover her and eat her

 _Even your brother left you, your dear brother_

 _The one you forgot about_

Her eyes watered, still confused, so many things were happening at once, she was tired, she just wanted to go home and rest, brace her mother and see Sasuke-kun, another hand reached her, she was being pulled down, she was going to drown

 _Yes sweety, let me take control and all pain will disappear_

The sweetened voice tempted her, after all nobody wanted her, in her life Sasuke-kun kept calling her annoying and her parents…. Were not her real parents

She cried again feeling lonely as ever

\- Katon goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire release: great fireball technique) – a fiery explosion echoed in the death forest, he gasped for air, just staying awake was taken a big toll on him, Naruto was dealing with five ninja while he fought four, they were strong and he couldn´t recognize anyone from the former exams

-It seems they still have some stamina, find the girl! – the leader, a tall shinobi with his head and hands covered in bandages was giving the orders, he panicked they were after Sakura, he sent another fiery ball towards his opponents, they would not get her – Orochimaru-sama want the girl alive – so they were the men of that disgusting snake, he was raged

Rage because of what happened, rage because Sakura was so weak and weird, rage because it was all Orochimaru fault and he was out for vengeance, if they dared to touch Sakura even the slightest it would be their doom

-I found her – locks of pink came in the vision field of Naruto, he had sent flying three of his enemies and was having a taijutsu combat with the fourth, with the slight distraction he was grabbed by the jacket and sent to the ground, unable to move he watched in horror as the guy tossed Sakura to another one as if she was a mere tool

-Oh the girl is not that bad – and that was it, Sasuke had enough, he sent explosive tags to everything he could, to be honest there were a lot of enemies and Sasuke and Naruto were tired in every single way

-Stay still little Uchiha – a sudden move from behind got him by surprise, a girl with red hair smiled triumphal, he was now in the same position as Naruto, in the floor being subjugated by a powerful ninja

Naruto and Sasuke were left to watch the destiny of the pinkette, one of the eldest ninja was looking at Sakura as if she was another commodity, he licked his own lips tasting the moment, being the next in leadership and the eldest had its advantages

One of them was that he could do as he pleased, being a rogue ninja was one of the best decisions he had ever made, it was a shame that the girl was still too young but he knew that in the future she would make a very fine woman, he at least wanted her to wake up, he wanted to hear her scream for mercy

-Come one pinky wakey wakey – he licked her cheek and enjoyed the speechless look on her teammates, oh he really enjoyed messing up with people, especially with the ones he thought were cute "this will leave a very nice scar in their hearts" he shredded the girl T shirt to pieces, the ninja world was a cruel place and what better than him to teach these young ones a lesson, they should be excited he was doing this service for them

Sasuke could only grind his teeth, his movements were limited and Sakura was going to be… he couldn´t bear that, he didn´t want that

He remembered again the thought he had, of her stained in blood and with a blank stare, if those eyes were to become reality he would definitely lose it, he accumulated chakra as fast as he could, locking eyes with Naruto in the process, they would protect her

But he was not prepared of what came next, that guy dared to shred Sakura clothes to pieces, he even dared to expose her to the others to see while licking her cheek with a big smile

-SAKURA! – They cried her name, both; the only way they could get away from that situation was if the pinkette woke up

Just as she was closing her eyes and saying her goodbyes, a big sounded scream of her name echoed through the room, beams of light filtered in the dark place, the hands vanishing one by one

-Not yet, I am not done yet. I do not know who you are, but you can come at me with anything, I wont let you win, kai! – her teammates needed her and that was enough for her

 _I am your darkness Sakura, I will haunt you, I am your deepest and darkest desires, I live inside you and the more broken you are the more I grow inside you, one day you wont be able to fight me and then you will be mine –_ her body glowed, her right arm and face were covered in strange black arms and in a sudden movement she was back to reality

A reality she preferred to avoid

Her cheek was wet, and she was cold but more importantly her teammates were lying on the floor, she wanted to rush towards them but something heavy was holding her back, it was like those hands creeping out from the water all over again

-Oh I see you are awake – he laughed – this is perfect, thank you little ones now I can have more fun – black met green; The foreign ninja was touching her coldly and aggressively, she was only 12! And now this was happening, a sense of déjà vu invaded her

 _Cold hands, firm grips, a deadly and pleased stare_

She froze, her memories were coming back, unfortunately they were not pleasant ones, unable to move she cried, mostly because of the memories

All of this nightmare, all of this craziness, she just wanted to stop

Naruto had enough of that nonsense, Sakura was being hurt in front of his eyes and he was doing nothing, he was raged

The air became heavy and was covered with a tick heavy and orange ambiance, Sasuke new the source of this and was half glad half worried, chaos was ensure to happen and he didn´t care, he would make everyone pay, especially that black haired ninja, his sharingan appeared once more, in a more vivid red

By the time Kakashi and the other squad teams arrived the place was covered in bodies, at least ten ninja dead, he eyed his little team of gennin, Sakura was kneeling down with her exposed legs and a shirt that belonged to Sasuke – as he was shirtless, sobbing and crying, Naruto sat there looking at the sky while holding one of her hands lost in his own little world, and Sasuke stood close to them with a hand on the girl´s head

He approached them with the intention of finding out what happened, it was only the third day and the exams were on the verge of postponement, all depended on the answer of his team

Sasuke acknowledged his sensei with relief and annoyance

\- Yo – Kurenai almost chocked on her own saliva, the ambiance was heavy enough and only Kakashi would be so nonchalantly about it, Asuma sighed while Gai shook his head amusing, Kakashi was still Kakashi

-Kakashi – sensei – tension rose to its peak, no one dared to move or to even blink, Sasuke made no attempt to move neither to look away from the pinkette – you are late

And for the third time in his life, Kakashi was deeply remorseful

-Maa – was his response


	6. Protocols 31 and 57

**Protocols 3.1 and 5.7**

Silence was the now unspoken rule among them, each one submerged in thoughts and beliefs, each one with their own demons to fight.

Kakashi made no attempt to break the rule, he waited patiently for the hokage arrival and to hear the full story, few days ago his team was functional enough to work together and pass the test with ease, he believed they were ready, but now…

The events that unfolded were out of control of his hands, he wished for a different path, his cute little gennin were only getting a hold of what a ninja was and they already made various kills, they fought their way to save a comrade, and the weakest member faced the fragility and cruelty of being a woman in the field

No matter the age or gender, ninja were assassins, trained to kill and preserve their own, that was the reality and his team had experienced very fast, just few months after their graduation

Very early, he thought

Too early.

He finally was able to lie down without the need of wondering if Sakura was going to survive or if they were going to be attacked, he could try to relax

But all he saw was red.

His hands covered by the tick and warm liquid that smelled like metal

It was disgusting

He had gone lose with his power, and what was the worst is he couldn´t bring himself to regret his actions, killing each of the ninjas felt perfectly right, it pleased him, hearing their screams, shredding their dreams to pieces and making them pay

His eyes drifted from the ceiling to his hands, memories of people calling him "monster" kept flowing, suddenly the room was filled with ghosts of all the people in his hometown, kids yelling at him, pointing at him. Adults watching him in discontent and fear, all of them yelling "monster" over and over again, to the point he believed them

He had to wonder, he had to ask himself "was he a monster?" "were they right about me?" the stain in his clothes will never disappear, that moment of taking out a life from someone will always remain in his heart, engraved with fire, because it pained

He eyed Sakura and then Sasuke, both lost, same as him

Would they be able to recover?

Or the scars from this battle would be too much for them?

Whatever it was, he knew the bond that kept them together and sane was very thin and in any moment the balance they managed to grasp, would vanish, just like that

Sakura was safe.

He kept telling himself, a new mantra needed for his sanity.

But she looked anything but all right; fidgeting, staring to nowhere with empty sockets and her left hand holding the place were the mark was

He scowled at himself, he didn´t need emotions or disruptions, he needed power and to become strong, in their last fight he felt very weak and it was not enough, to be able to surpass Itachi, 10 ninja by himself shouln´t have been an issue, been able to protect Sakura shouldn´t….

He growled again, he was thinking once more about his teammate

Two days, it had been only two miserable days of living with them and he was constantly thinking about her and her well being, he slumped on the bed defeated, Sakura was a weakness in his plans, and he needed to get away from her

And fast….

A flying bird caught her attention – "it would be good, to be free as you; I envy you little guy" – she always knew who she was and where she was going, she made plans way ahead to accomplish them and thought of her as the princess of a fairy tale

She clenched her soggy pants with brute force, all of that was a lie – "what is true or not, I cannot distinguish anymore" – she rummaged in her head for clues, desperately searching for that _something_ that will assure her it was going to be all right. Her personality, her desires, were they all hers? Or maybe it was a plan to gain something much bigger for someone?

The last memory she got was of a man, twice her height and very scary. He would always touch her in ways she didn´t like but she obeyed like a dog, fearing the consequences.

His words still fresh made her nervous – _Your mission: Infiltrate Konoha ranks -_ mission? What mission?

She needed answers, no more questions

She wanted, needed to know her past and then reconcile with it

-"Freedom" – she was chained to her past and she was unable to move on without the fragments of that, a long journey waited ahead of her

With dissimulation her eyes looked Naruto and then Sasuke, her decision was going to affect their future and it wasn´t fair, but then what to do?

Only time would tell

The sound of the opening door broke the "silence rule", everyone turned their gaze at the intruder, a chunnin of Konoha with a senbon in his mouth

-"Ah Hayate" – the poor chunnin felt the heavy atmosphere and all eyes on him, not understanding the situation completely but knowing team seven was danger

-Hokage-sama has requested for Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Sasuke, for security reasons and following protocols 3.1 and 5.7, the team will be interrogated under supervision of Morino Ibiki, during that time Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha will not be allowed to communicate to any outsiders or between themselves before approval. Furthermore, the medical team will perform a complete physical and psychological test to asses the stability of the members, if all procedures conducted were to be cleared, you will regain your position in the chunnin exams – Kakashi sighed defeated, something very wrong must had happened to follow protocols 3.1 and 5.7 – if there are no questions then, from now on you are officially detained until further notice

She stared in disbelief, they had gone through almost hell and they were detaining them?

Six ninja, each with masks covering their features appeared in the room, more specifically side by side of each one, blocking the vision and not allowing them for another glance

-Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi please follow me – Sasuke clenched his fists, he had never heard of this harsh protocols taking place but he was fine with it, but the image of a surprised girl with green eyes didn´t leave him

If they found about the mark, would Konoha go to the extent of killing her?

He wasn´t sure

Sasuke-kun...

* * *

So this is the first story I actually publish, it have been sitting in my computer for a few years now and I thought why not?

I always wanted to try a different approach to all the stories out there of Naruto, so I hope you enjoy my crazy version and thoughts put into writing, I am not a native english speaker so this is also an experiment to improve my english grammar and writing

Critics and reviews are more than welcome, and I really hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

I will upload as much chapters I feel happy with.

Also if you have any ideas or want to see something happening send me a pm, I might be able to work with it and develop the story furthermore.

DISCLAIMER: The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto, but the story is completely mine

See you soon xx


	7. Clouds - Part I

**Clouds - Part I**

-Uzumaki Naruto answer the question, did you or did you not felt pleasure while killing those ninja? – Ibiki Morino was a scary character, on the first part of the exams he thought the act of a tough person was a mere façade,

Being honest he could not answer a question he did not know the answer to, he discovered about his power only a few weeks back, on the mission to wave and since then it manifested when he let his emotions take the best of him

God sake he even wondered the same a few moments back in the quiet room, was this guy able to read his mind? If so he wanted him far very far away from him, kilometres if possible. If Ibiki discovered his ideas of considering himself a monster, not even his confidence would be able to take him out of the mess

Ibiki waited patiently for the answer that never came, it was an imperative question the security of Konoha and it future relied on that. To him he wasn´t particularly annoyed at the blond, he had gained his trust and earned his respect when passes his infamous test without a single letter written on paper, and he was not fond of the idea of implementing protocols 3.1 and 5.7 on gennin, also known by the I&T as the "death or alive" protocols, obviously as a black joke.

Those protocols were only used when Konoha security was threatened greatly, and in his evaluation so far he had been unable to find anything suspicious, or anything he didn´t know already.

-Uzumaki Naruto – he almost pleaded to finish the interrogatory, breaking dreams and innocence was not one of his methods or ideals of spending the afternoon – answer the question

-I…. – Naruto clutched his eyes not wanting to look at the man – do not know – he finally answered

Ibiki wanted to let it slide, and hoped that the kid was more smart than that, but he had been honest, though a quality deemed worthy in a civilian society and probably when his life wasn´t on the line, but right now was Naruto greatest weakness – Are you aware of your words kid?

-When Sakura-chan was in danger and Sasuke and I trapped, I felt useless, I wanted to help her but I was lying on the floor with an enemy on top. We were surrounded by a lot of enemies and one of them dared to… to – his voice cracked muting little by little, not wanting to say it, because if he said it, then everything would be real and his demons too

-Continue – the T&I director didn´t budge, he required all details of the story for him to give a proper analysis

-He – Naruto paused – touched – he gulped once more, the words stuck in his throat like a knot – Sakura; He torn her clothe apart with a kunai, lick her face and…. – that was it, he was not going to talk anymore. The grown ninja remained impassive, writing notes on his report avoiding at all cost Naruto whimpers, it must have been very traumatic for a twelve year old, but he had a job to do and questions to ask.

Outside the confinement room time flowed as usual, the bright and warm colors of the sky dissolved into darkness and cold, a cloudy night, no stars could be seen, nor a moon to illuminate the path, life around the five nations was slowly pacing down, for a more quiet and desolated moment. The forest of dead being no exception, loud roars announced the beginning of a storm; the fights, explosions and screams were muted with the first thunder of the night.

She moved uncomfortably at the touch of the doctor, all of her was exposed and weak, though the sweet voice of the nurse tried to assure her "everything was going to be fine" she thought that was not the case

She jumped when something cold touched her skin bringing demons she wanted to rest from

-Let me go, NO! – she shut her eyes, she wasn´t going to cry not now, oh please God if you are there don´t. The nurse was baffled to see that even the slightest touch would alter the kunoichi, according to her record nothing abnormal or out of place should be the cause of such fear

It will be fine little Saku, you will feel good – the hand that moved around her back it made her nauseous, she lost every sense of reality and was brought to a much darker place

A room, beautifully decorated and a very soft bed, but her body ached, every inch, every centimetre pained. Her limbs wrapped by something she could not recognise, unable to move or fight back

The scent of tabacco was all over the place, and someone else was there with her, it was a naked and wide back, a man she saw

Oddly enough she was curious as to see face of the man, and she eyed him, every fraction, every detail, waiting for the moment he would look at her

-Yumiko I need a morphine dose, NOW! – the nurse was paralyzed, the girl gaze was lost, as if her body was here but her mind elsewhere, she was moving frenetically and the doctor was unable to continue with the examination

-He..here – the petite nurse passed the syringe clumsy, the verdict was obvious and she was sorry for the little girl

The rain poured heavily even in the tower he was perfectly able to contemplate the forest emptiness, everyone must have been looking refuge from the sudden tempest. A puff of smoke clouded the window in front of him and he was between a wall and the horns of a monster, his orders might be questionable but the reports he had received form each department were rather disturbing

The silver haired jounin made no movement, still recalling the conversation that took place between Sasuke and the hokage, he was now being interrogated by Ibiki Morino while they waited patiently for the next member to arrive

-The situation is not good Kakashi – there was not easy way to start the conversation, not a positive thing to say or a "everything will be fine" comment, he would at least deal with it now than later, for the sake of those kids – Orochimaru made a bold movement, thanks to the little Haruno we are aware that Sasuke is a target but the outcome could not be more detrimental

-What do you mean hokage – sama? – Sarutobi didn´t confide this to the jounin at the beginning for obvious reasons, not even in his wildest dreams would he know that one of the most darkest and well hidden secrets of Konoha would be exposed, but the time had come and with grief he had to take responsibility

-What I am about to tell you Kakashi cannot leave this room or you ever, if you have to die keeping this secret then so be it, knowing this, Hatake Kakashi are you willing to everything you know, everything you care and even your career and life for this information? Know that if your answer is yes, a big baggage will be put on your shoulders, one that you must carry until the end of your life – it can be said that Kakashi was speechless.

* * *

And it is getting intense, hohoho

What do you think is the secret the hokage is talking about?

And should Kakashi say yes or no?

I honestly have two versions for the next chapter, one for yes and one for no, depending on the answer the story will take one path or another, but rest assured it will be very interesting and intense.

So I decided I will let you decide with your reviews, I will wait for five answers to be fair

I hope you liked it and I would be very happy if you could let me know your thoughts on the fic, once more if you have any ideas let me know I will be more than happy to work with them

Well see you soon, xx


End file.
